Removal receptacle for the contents of coin boxes



June 5, 1956 w. w. JONES REMOVAL RECEPTACLE FOR THE CONTENTS OF COINBOXES Filed Dec 16, 1952 2 She etsSheet l r\ H 1 20 n @l Z9 6g- Z} :-:Z51 50 24 6 r 25 m A 2 l INVENTOR, 42:4 .1. Wfi/zn W172i? es June 5, 1956w. w. JONES 2,749,030

REMOVAL RECEPTACLE FOR THE CONTENTS OF COIN BOXES Filed Dec. 16, 1952 2Sheets-Sheet 2 REMOVAL RECEPTACLE FOR THE CONTENTS OF COIN BOXE WhitneyW. Jones, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application December 16, 1952, vSerial No, 326,262

1 Claim. (Cl. 232-16) The object of the invention is to provideimprovements in'means for increasing the efiiciency with which coins maybe collected from coin-controlled and/or coin receiving devices of allsorts, and at the same time insure such collection against illegalextraction, and in fact preventing them from coming into contact with orbeing accessible to any part of the body of even the one authorized tomake such collection, specific reference herein to parking meters beingintended to relate as well to any and all coin-controlled devices withwhich the invention is operable, this application comprising acontinuationin-part of co-pending application Serial No. 250,257, filedOctober 8, 1951.

Another and more specific object is to provide an embodiment of theinvention, comprising a collection receptacle in the form of a truck,that is adapted for use with both old and new parking meters and othersuch devices, and from which devices it would otherwise be necessary toremove the coins by hand, either in groups or individually, orcollectively in initially empty receptacles, that are themselvescollected from coin-controlled devices and into which coins therefromhave previously fallen, said collection receptacle being employed totransmit said coins to a receiving oflice, bank, or other depository.

Still another object is to provide an improved truck for transportingthe coins from one or more parking meters or the like, the truck propercarrying a container that is normally closed and sealed, but which isprovided with an extendable, preferably flexible tube having a receivinghead at its upper end, adapted to be detachably vsecured to and receivethe coins as they fall from within each parking meter or similar device,while a substantial portion of said tube is readily capable of extendingfreely from, or being slideably telescoped into, a preferably fixedpositioned tubular housing within said container, that embodies anelongated chamber into which said tube is capable of sliding at alltimes, as the mass of coins builds up around the outside of saidhousing, the lower end portion of said tube and the upper end portion ofsaid housing being provided with enlarged apertures in their respectiveside walls, that register when said tube is in an extended position, topermit coins entering said tube to fall into the space within saidcontainer surrounding said housing, and to seal said space when saidtube is in a retracted or telescoped position to prevent coins vfallingor being extracted from said container by way of said housing and saidtube, by and upon said container being inverted. I

A further object is to provide a truck for this purpose, having asupporting platform for the improved container, and two or more wheelsto support the same and facilitate its propulsion from place to place,as for example from meter to meter, or other type of coin-controlledmechanisms, and from a locality where collections are made to' theotfice, bank, or other depository, for safe keeping,

While above saidplatform is provided with peripherally States Patent Astill further object is to provide a head for the extendable, flexiblecoin-receiving tube of said container, comprising a hooked portion forpartially encircling the usual standard upon which a parking meter orthe like is supported, and a body portion having an open intake side orcutaway portion, that registers with the discharge opening of the coincompartment of such meter, when said hooked portion is in operativeengagement with the meter standard or support, said intake leading intoa chamber that is closed upon its laterally opposite and forward sides,and opens downwardly into the end of said flexible tube, the closure ofsaid meter when in operative position serving to close the otherwiseopen upper portion of said compartment, to prevent removal of coins byanyone while they are gravitating towards said truck chamber, and ahandle bar extending slideably through a vertically elongated aperturein the forward portion of said head, and provided upon its rear end witha key for opening the meter when in one extreme position, and whichhandle bar upon being withdrawn forwardly and angularly upwardly eifectsthe opening of said closure, while a reverse movement of said handle barserves to re-c-iose said closure and lock the same in closed position,after which said head may be disconnected from the meter standard, whichseparation is totally impossible as long as the said handle bar is inengagement with said closure.

And still another object is to provide a container for said truck, inwhich is a hollow tubular housing, which at its upper end extendsthrough and is fixedly secured to a lid or closure that is normallysecured by a lock to said container, and which at its lower end normallyrests, if desired, upon the floor of said container, said housing beingprovided with an opening near the upper end of its lower slanting side,a second tube telescopically positioned within said first tube andextendable therefrom, a chain or other suitable means serving to limitthe outward movement of said second tube with respect to said housing,said tube also being provided with an opening in its lower slanting sidethat is generally registerable with the opening in said housing, whensaid inner tube is in an extended position, the inner end portion ofsaid tube being provided with a diagonally extending lower wall,operative to direct coins, entering it when in extended position,through said openings then in registry, to permit such coins to fallfreely into the interior of said container outside of and surroundingsaid housing, a preferably flexible tubular extension of said tube whenin extended position carrying the hereinbefore described collectinghead, means to limit the movement of said head with respect to the lidof said container, and a sleeve loosely slideable upon the outside ofsaid housing, operabie when the container and tubes are inverted tocover the opening in said housing, and prevent coins within saidcontainer outside of said housing from re-entering the same and beingextracted through said flexible extension and the collecting headcarried thereby.

With these and other objects in mind, the invention comprises furtherdetails of construction and operation, which are hereinafter fullydescribedin the following specification, when read in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a vertical section of atruck, a container supported thereby and said tube, carrying said headbeing shown in elevation, said head being in operative relation with afragmentary portion of a meter which is shown in elevation; Pi 2 is asimilar view but showing the tube in retracted positions; and Fig. 3 isa horizontal section illustrating the relationship between said tube andsaid housing.

Referring to the drawings, a representative parking meter 1 or the likeis shown as being operatively mounted upon a suitable supportingstandard 2, said meter being intended merely to represent acoin-receiving device of any sort from which the collecting truckcomprising the invention is designed to extract, contain and thereafterprotect coins from said meter, it also being understood that acollecting device of this type can be carried as a satchel or suitcase,if preferred, instead of upon a wheel truck.

Heretofore, when using a meter or the like of this general type, uponopening the closure with which they are all provided to gain access tothe interior thereof, and permit the extraction of coins therefrom, ithas been necessary to remove the coins therein by means of ones fingers,with a resulting loss of time, chance of coins falling upon the ground,and the temptation of the operator to actually pocket at least a portionof them; or instead to remove them in a box or other suitable form ofcontainer that is extracted as a unit, and which must in each instancebe replaced by another such unit, that has previously been emptiedfollowing an earlier collection, thus entailing the additional expenseincident to a stock of empty boxes and their storage. It is with theseand related facts in mind, that the novel collecting device hereindescribed has been developed, and which has proved so efficient whereverused.

In the drawings, the improved truck construction is shown as comprisingan axle 3 provided with wheels 4, between which a platform 5 is carriedby said axle through the medium of a frame 6, that upwardly provides ahand rail or other form of means for manually tilting and propellingsaid truck from place to place, while the lower portion of said frame isprovided with a preferably circular receptacle 8 and a circular band 9spaced above it to receive the lower end portion of and operativelyposition a cylindrical container 10. The upper and otherwise open end ofsaid container is normally spanned and closed by a peripherally flangedlid 11, that is normally fastened to said container by any suitablemeans, as for example a rod 12 extending diametrically through alignedapertures in the overlapping portions of said container and said lid,and secured against unauthorized withdrawal therefrom by a padlock 13 orthe like. Said container is normally secured to the platform of saidtruck, as by means of U-shaped link 14 or the like, that centrallyextends through an apertured lug 15 secured to said lid, and isdetachably secured to said frame 6 by a suitable lock 16.

An aperture 17 is provided adjacent to one side of said cover or lid,through which extends the upper portion of the tubular housing 18hereinbefore referred to, which at its lower end terminates preferablyin close proximity to the bottom wall 19 of said housing, said housingbeing rigidly maintained in diagonal relationship with respect to saidlid and said container by means of a depending flange 20, thatapproximates the frustum of a cone, its upper and diametrically wideredges being welded or similarly secured to the under surface of saidlid, while its smaller lower circular edge is similarly secured to theouter surface of said housing, in order to thereby provide acircumferentially continuous support for said housing by said lid. Thishousing terminates a short distance above said lid 11, while the upperportion of its lower side, but slightly below said lid, is provided witha vertically elongated aperture 21, and well below said aperture theouter surface of said housing is provided with a fixed radiallyprojecting stop 22, against which normally rests a cylindrical sleeve 23that loosely surrounds said housing, and automatically gravitates into aposition effectively closing said aperture, if and when the entirecontainer unit is inverted.

Within said housing is slidably positioned a slightly smaller tube 24,spanned at its lower end by a plate or plug 25, provided with an eyelet26 of any suitable type, by which a chain or other flexible element 27connects said tube with a second eyelet 28, carried by and extendinginwardly from the inner surface of the bottom wall 19 of said housing,so as to thereby limit the outward movement of said tube 24 in saidhousing. Said tube is also provided with a laterally directed aperture29, below which is a deflector plate or partition 30, by which coinsfailing through said tube are directed laterally outwardly through saidapertures 21 and 29 when they are in registry. It is to be noted thatthe vertical or longitudinal extent of the aperture 21 in said housingis substantially longer than the aperture 29 in said tube, so thatwhether the receiving head 31 mounted upon the outer free end of saidtube by means of an intervening flexible tube 32, is in its highest ormost extended position for normal operation with a parking meter on aforty-one inch standard, o;- is vertically positioned for functioningwith a standard thirty-nine to forty-inch post, the inner aperture 29will he in registry with some portion of the outer aperture 21.

Thereafter, when the coins have been collected from a given meter, thetube is dropped into the lowermost portion of said housing, and the sideof said housing below the aperture 21 effectively closes the aperture29, and the coin contents of said container while gradually filling,pile around said housing, and there is at no time the slightesthindrance by such mass of coins to the lowering of said tube intoretracted position. By this construction, as long as said tube is in anextended position. coins may be fed into said container, as hereinbeforedescribed, but no coins can be removed therefrom by inverting thecontainer, regardless of the longitudinal position of said tube, due tothe presence of the sleeve 23 and its ability to effectively close theaperture 21 in said housing instantly and automatically upon inversionof said container. Furthermore, in order to prevent said tube and thecollecting head 31 carried thereby from being extended when not desired,or by unauthorized persons, said head is provided with a laterallyprojecting lug 33 having an eyelet, through which extends one end of achain or other flexible element 34, the opposite end of which is looselysecured in the eyelet of a lug 35 fixedly secured to and extendingupwardly from the container lid 11. In addition thereto, if desired,said head may be additionally provided with an extension 36, that whenin lowered position is engageable by the outer free end of a link 37,that extends through the apertured lug .15 of the lid 11, and which isdetachably secured to said link by a suitable lock 38.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to protect byLetters Patent of the United States is:

A receptacle for transporting coins, comprising a substantially closedhollow container, a tubular housing within and extending from a lowerportion of said container upwardly and opening through an upper portionthereof, said housing having an opening communicating with the upperportion of the interior of said container, a tube closed at its lowerend and slidable within said housing, whereby said tube may betelescoped within and adjacent to the bottom of said housing orpartially with drawn so as to extend freely therefrom, the lower portionof said tube being provided with an opening adapted to register with theopening in said housing while in an extended position, said tube beingsecured to and removable only with said lid, a gravity-actuated sleevesurrounding said housing normally below said first opening and operativeupon inverting said receptacle to shift into a position closing saidfirst opening, to prevent coins within said container outside of saidhousing falling reversely through said openings when in registry andfrom said receptacle, means to limit the outward movement of 5 6 saidtube with respect to said housing, and a hollow head References Cited inthe file of this patent secured to the upper end of said tube andoperative when UNITED STATES PATENTS attached to a coin-controlleddevice to receive and con- 2 277 916 Klemt Mar 31 1942 vey coms fromsuch devlce to the mterlor of sand tube 2,4303 Broussard Nov. 4, 1947and thence to sand houslng and sa1d contamer. 2,599,912 Hale June 10'1952

